TRIVANI FOUNDATION

NEWSLETTER
December 2007

TRIVANI FOUNDATION 2007 YEAR-END UPDATES

CAMBODIA
Trivani Foundation has partnered with Sus-
tainable Cambodia; an organization dedi-
cated to the sustainable development of
under-developed villages in Cambodia.
Their focus is on education, health, and mi-
cro-enterprise.
• Kravanh Primary School Construction:
Trivani Foundation is happy to announce
the near completion of the Kravanh Pri-
mary School. As per Sustainable Cambo-
dia’s projected schedule, the school
should be refurbished by the end of this
month.
• Primary School Teacher: Trivani has pro-
vided subsidy for the employment of a
primary school teacher in the Kravanh
Inside this issue: district. This is a crucial step in our stu-
dent sponsor program—prior to Trivani’s
involvement, the Kravanh community was
unable to pay a teacher’s salary.
ETHIOPIA
Trivani is mainly focusing on child spon-
sorship in Ethiopia with the help of our
country manager Melaku.
• Taget Primary School: Trivani has paid
the tuition for twenty-seven students in
the Taget Primary School to attend
school all year. Also, we have donated
funds for school uniforms and books for
these students. This is very exciting
because these children’s families are
too poor to afford tuition. Had Trivani
not supplied funding for their schooling,
these students would not be attending
school this year.

Trivani Founda- 1
tion 2007 Year-
End Updates
More Founda- 2
tion Year-End
Updates

More Founda- 3
tion Year-End
Updates

Country Con- 4
text—Nepal!

Chitwan Medical 5
Center, Nepal /
Chitwan “Fun to
Know Facts”

Nepal’s Bishnu 6
Adhikar: The
Value of Child
Sponsorship!
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MORE FOUNDATION YEAR-END UPDATES

NEPAL KENYA
In association with the child sponsorship program we In addition to the child sponsorshop program, Trivani has
have engaged in other, school-based efforts. participated in many school-related projects.

• Sanskriti Sudan School: In collaboration with the
Sanskriti community, Trivani has built two classrooms
as additions to a very over-crowded, poorly-built
school. With these two classrooms, students will
have more space, better light and safer conditions,
which allows for a richer educational experience and
more opportunities for learning and growth.
• Neta School: With the help of the Leslie Dee Ann
Foundation, CHOICE Humanitarian, and the Neta
community, the Neta Primary School is finished. This
school is a six classroom school and will give hun-
dreds of students opportunities for a better learning
environment and learning experience.
UGANDA
In sponsoring the orphans of Asayo’s Wish Foundation,
we are also able to engage in other projects of relief
that benefit our sponsored students.
• Ndohivyo Village: We have sent funds for twenty desks
to be built. Each desk is made to sit three students, so
we have provided enough desks for sixty students.
Before these desks were built, these sixty students
were sitting on the floor.
• Mdomo Village: Trivani has finished three classrooms
in the Mdomo Primary School. These classrooms were
the finishing measure of the school’s completion, and
are a joint effort with the Mdomo community and
CHOICE Humanitarian. Teachers will no longer be
required to teach 100 students at a time, and classes
will not be held under the shade/protection of a tree, or
canceled due to inclement weather. Instead, students
will attend classes indoors, in a clean, safe environ-
ment.

• Most Recent Contribution: Trivani has funded a feed-

ing program for the orphans of Asayo’s Wish for the
months of October, November, and December. In
addition to feeding these children, we have also do-
nated funds for matron support. Such support pro-
vides emotional, psychological, and even physical
care for the children. In this way, Trivani is not only
able to provide material aid for Asayo’s Wish or-
phans, but also emotional and psychological care.
• Child Sponsorship Program: Currently, we have
25,000 students waiting to be sponsored in the
Kabermaido District. At the moment, we have
agreed to sponsor 1,000 of these students but need
more distributors in order to take on more students! Megan with class previously held outdoors

Matron support for orphans New Mdomo indoor classrooms

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MORE FOUNDATION YEAR-END UPDATES

PHILIPPINES PROJECT TYPES:
Trivani had collaborated with Desert International to or-
ganize surgical screenings with the hope of conducting Child Sponsorship (see story on Bishnu, Pg. 6)
more corrective surgeries. Kenya
• 4,000 students—4,500 students waiting for sponsor-
• Surgical Screenings: Trivani has organized two surgi- ship!
cal screenings in Lapu-Lapu City, assessing the • Schools:
needs of over 150 people. These people now have Fuleye, Mgalani, Chengoni, Sambura, Bahakwenu,
the opportunity to qualify for free surgeries. Mwaraphesa, and Silaloni Primary Schools
As Chad’s photos document, these surgeries have immea- Ethiopia
surable, life-changing effects.
• 100 students
• School:
Taget Primary School

Nepal
• 2,000 students
• Schools:
Global Vision, San Skriti Sadan Archaleni,
Shanti Sadan, Janapriya, Saubhagya
Sadan Dhuseni, Vidya Jyoti Khahare,
Panini Sanskrit, and Panini Primary Schools

Uganda
• 300 students—25,000 students waiting for sponsor-
ship!
• School:
Asayo’s Wish Orphanage

Cambodia
• 250 students
• School:
Kravanh Primary School

Environmental
• Four biogas digesters in Nepal

Medical
• Over 600 surgeries in the Philippines
• Cataract Clinic (under construction)
• Women’s Center (under construction)

Micro-Credit
• 5 loans to Yehu women

School Construction
• Passachuar Primary School—Passachuar,Nepal
(finshed!)
• Jana Priya Primary School—Neta, Nepal
(finished!)
• Kravanh Primary School—Kravanh, Cambodia
(nearly finished!)
• Chicomani Primary School—Mheniyenzeni, Kenya
• Domo Primary School—Samburu, Kenya
 Page 4

COUNTRY CONTEXT— NEPAL!

Nepal is a landlocked nation in South Asia, bor-
dering Tibet to the north and India to the south,
east and west. For a relatively small country, the
Nepali landscape is uncommonly diverse,
featuring three major regions: the humid Terai in
the south, the Hill region in the center, and the
lofty Himalayas in the north. Nepal boasts eight
of the world's ten highest mountains, including
Mount Everest. Kathmandu is the capital and
largest city. Nepal is roughly the same size
as the U.S. state of Arkansas or the country of
England. Its landlocked location, technological
backwardness, and long-running civil war have
prevented Nepal from fully developing its
economy.

Most houses in rural Nepal are made

up of a tight bamboo framework with
mud and cow-dung walls and corru-
gated tin roofs. These dwellings re-
main cool in summers and retain
warmth in winters.

A typical Nepalese meal is dal-bhat, a

kind of a lentil soup served with rice
and vegetables. Chura (beaten rice),
meat, eggs, and fish are also eaten.

Nepal's workforce of about 10 million

suffers from a severe shortage of
skilled labor. Agriculture employs
81% of the workforce.

Photo of Terai region taken on Chad and

Megan’s recent trip to Nepal—this area is
where the Passachuar School is located.

Nepal had previously been the world's only Hindu state, with over
eighty percent of the people following this faith. However, Nepal
became a secular state in May of 2006.

Differences between Hindus and Buddhists have been, in general,

very subtle and academic in nature due to the intermingling of
Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Both share common temples and
worship common deities.

Stupas, originally simple funerary monuments to Buddha, have

evolved into elaborate objects of religious veneration. Contempo-
rary stupas are large hemispherical mounds with various features
atop, such as this harmika. Stupas display the all-seeing eyes of
Adi-Buddha (primordial Budha) on all four sides of the edifice, star-
ing in the four cardinal directions.

Megan and Chad ‘s photo of the Swayambhunath stupa in Kathmandu.


CHITWAN MEDICAL CENTER, NEPAL
The need for adequate healthcare in Nepal, in both the
urban and rural areas, has been a growing concern for
many years. Currently, the Nepalese healthcare system
fails to provide sufficient general and specialized health-
care services, properly trained professionals, and medi-
cal institutions necessary to meet the growing needs of
the Nepalese population. Trivani Foundation is pleased
to announce its collaborative role in a major thrust to
rectify this problem; the Chitwan Medical School, Teach-
ing Hospital, and Research Center [CMC(P)Ltd.] is to be
built in the Chitwan district of Nepal.
CMC will satisfy the growing need and demand for qual-
ity healthcare by creating a fully accredited, world-class
international medical school and teaching hospital.
CMC will accomplish its mission through the following
objectives:
1. Provide world-class medical education, advanced
medical degrees, and tropical medicine research
2. Provide a full range of high quality medical services
(including specialty medical services unique to Nepal
and neighboring countries, such as India and Bangla-
desh)
3. Strengthen doctors’ commitment to provide services
to the impoverished communities of Nepal through the
volunteer Humanitarian Outreach Program
4. Promote international doctor to doctor skills transfer
program
5. Implement “Green Technology,” which will provide a
sustainable source of power, water, and waste manage-
ment
Chitwan district is the best location in the country from
both the density of population and access to the facility
prospectives. About 4.3 million people live in the area (a
80-120 km radius) and existing district hospitals and
primary health care centers can provide service to only
one fourth of the people there.
Elephant-Rhino safari in Royal Chitwan Nat’l Park
Page 5
Funding for the Center will be provided by two principle
sources: participating doctor’s investments and interna-
tional investors. Twenty-five Nepalese doctors and pro-
fessionals will invest approximately 4 million U.S. dollars
or 29% of the total required start-up capital. International
investors will invest approximately 9.83 million U.S. dol-
lars or 71% of the total required start-up capital. A four
year roll-out is estimated for completion of the facility,
however, student admissions and hospital services will
be offered by the end of year two. Trivani will be contri-
buting medical supplies once medical services begin.
We are proud to have the opportunity to participate in
such a worthwhile and significant venture.
Chitwan District—”Fun-to-Know Facts”
Chitwan, one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, sits at
the foot of the Himalayas in south, central Nepal. It is
one of the few remaining undisturbed vestiges of the
Terai region. District headquarters is Bahratpur, the
seventh largest city in the country. Bharatpur is the com-
mercial and service center for higher education, health,
and transportation in the region. Chitwan is famous in
Nepal for its production of mustard, used to make mus-
tard oil. It also produces 70% of the country’s poultry,
and is known for its floriculture, bee farming, and mush-
room cultivation.
The district is the site of Nepal’s oldest national park, the
Royal Chitwan National Park. The park is home to at
least 43 species of mammals, 450 species of birds,
and 45 species of amphibians and reptiles. One of the
last populations of single-horned Indian rhinoceros
lives there, as well as panthers, leopards, crocodiles,
pythons, sloth bears, mongoose, monkeys, hyenas,
jackals, civets, and linsangs. The park is also one of the
last refuges of the Royal Bengal tiger.

NEPAL’S BISHNU ADHIKARI: THE VALUE OF CHILD SPONSORSHIP!
Bishnu Adhikari is the poster-child of child sponsorship. He
grew up in the remote village of Okelhpani in the Annapurna
Mountain range of Nepal. A reality for many in this mountain-
ous region—Bishnu had to walk over an hour each direction
to attend the primary school which was located atop a moun-
tain above his home. Between working long hours in the rice
paddies, cutting grain for his family, and collecting wood for
the home fire and wood-burning stove, Bishnu excelled in
school and consistently placed among the top in his class.
Unfortunately, Nepalese public education beyond primary
school is not free and Bishnu’s family did not possess the
financial resources necessary to continue his education.
Luckily, he was adopted into a school sponsorship program,
allowing him to continue attending school beyond primary
level. His interest in the sciences led him to pursue a degree
in engineering—Bishnu went to Russia, where he attended
university and obtained a bachelor's degree in engineering.
Upon graduation, he returned to his hometown of Oklehpani
where he began his tireless efforts to give back to his
community, help in the development of his village, and im-
prove its education system. Bishnu created and kindled rela-
tionships with village leaders. He mobilized entire communi-
ties. He worked to instill a vision of hope, growth, progress,
and a life made easier with a few simple changes. The vil-
lage members believed in Bishnu and took his vision to heart.
Sadly, Bishnu's stay in Oklehpani was short lived. The dan-
ger of the Maoist insurgency and civil unrest led Bishnu to
seek refuge in Kathmandu. He was displaced for several
years, but never forgot the villages of his childhood, the rice
Chad with Bishnu (in front) in Passachuar, Nepal
Page 6
paddies where he labored most mornings in his youth, and the
long treks to primary school when he was young. His vision of
development for Nepal was unshakable; he knew he had to
return sometime and complete what he had started.
Eventually Bishnu made his way to the United States where he
completed a Master's degree in Civil Engineering at Monterey,
California. He was an enormous success in his program and
learned innovative, yet simple, technologies that could change
the daily labors of entire communities. He learned of the invalu-
able economical, environmental, and house-hold benefits of
biogas, and of simple construction techniques that could pro-
vide light and warmth to a dismal and dark classroom. With this
new found expertise and enough time passing from the Maoist
uprisings, Bishnu teamed up with CHOICE Humanitarian and
Trivani Foundation (as our country manager), and began devel-
opment work once again in Okelhpani and neighboring villages.
Since then, Bishnu's impact has been unmeasurable. He has
organized and aided in the development and graduation of sev-
eral villages. He leads the cutting edge in developmental engi-
neering technology. He is changing the standard of living in
countless Nepalese homes. Bishnu credits much of his oppor-
tunity to the child sponsorship program; had he not been given
a hand up on the ladder of life through child-sponsorship, his
many accomplishments would not have been realized. He is
truly an inspiration to us all; he has shown us what is possible
through the efforts and support of child sponsorship. Bishnu’s
dedication to serve his people and improve their lives can teach
us what it means to be a true humanitarian. We are very
fortunate to be working with him.